Churchill Manor, the birthplace of the Iron Prime Minister

In Oxford, England, besides the world-renowned Oxford University, there is a vast palace—Blenheim Palace. It is the only palace in the UK that is not owned by the church or the royal family but is still called a palace. It is owned by the Churchill family (yes, the same family as the Iron Prime Minister of WWII), so it is also known as Churchill Manor. Walking into Churchill Manor in the town of Woodstock, the first impression is one word—big! Passing through the grand gate, a straight avenue leads directly to the palace, flanked by green fields. And passing through the 28,000 square meter palace, you realize this is not the entire manor. Beyond the palace, there is a river, winding lakes, and vast meadows... In the back garden of the palace, there are terraced gardens, with Greek-style sculptures and fountains complementing each other. The combination of cultural and natural landscapes in Churchill Manor is very clever, earning it the nickname 'Versailles of Naturalism,' and it is listed as a World Heritage Site. The entire manor covers an area of more than 8.5 square kilometers. To put it in perspective, the Forbidden City in Beijing covers only 0.72 square kilometers, making Churchill Manor ten times larger! The British royal family's Buckingham Palace is even smaller, only one-third the size of the Forbidden City... In terms of area, the Churchill family is much more extravagant than the king (of course, the location cannot be compared)! Churchill Manor began construction in 1705, designed by the genius architect John Vanbrugh. It is a manor built as a 'gift' from the queen. On August 13, 1704, under the command of the first Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill, the British army defeated the French and Bavarian allied forces in the village of Blenheim on the north bank of the Danube River, achieving a decisive victory in the War of the Spanish Succession. To reward his achievements, Queen Anne ordered the construction of this mansion in Woodstock, named Blenheim Palace. Today, you can still see commemorations of that battle on the buildings of Churchill Manor—old cannons and swords; sculptures of lions holding roosters on the roof, symbolizing Britain's victory over France, the 'Gallic Rooster.' The interior of the palace is very luxurious, with various historical oil paintings hanging on the walls—battles involving the manor's owners, beautiful portraits of the ladies, and a variety of art collections and precious artifacts. In the palace's library stands a statue of Queen Anne and a giant pipe organ—said to be the largest privately owned pipe organ in Europe. However, building and maintaining such a large manor must have been costly. During its construction, work was often halted due to lack of funds. By the 19th century, the once-prominent Churchill family was nearly bankrupt. The 8th Duke of Marlborough had to marry the daughter of a newly wealthy American. The mother of the future Prime Minister Churchill also came from a wealthy American family—the Churchill family had reached the point where they relied on the financial power of the bride's family to maintain the manor. Even today, besides selling tickets to 'subsidize household expenses,' the manor also rents out the palace as a venue for exhibitions. When we visited, a clothing brand was holding its exhibition in Blenheim Palace. The 'Iron Prime Minister' Churchill has his own dedicated exhibition area in the manor. Visitors can see photos of the Prime Minister as a child, letters from his youth, his illustrious history as Prime Minister, and a lifelike wax statue—people line up to take pictures with the Prime Minister, after all, he is the most famous modern figure in the Churchill family since the first Duke of Marlborough.